Tuesday, May 12, 2009

UIS expands student exchange programs with four new universities

The University of Illinois at Springfield has signed four new agreements with universities outside of the United States to expand its offerings and study abroad opportunities for students, staff and faculty.

UIS has signed a general affiliation agreement with the Universidade Estadual De Maringa (UEM), a state university in the State of Parana, Brazil. The agreement sets the stage for the development of student, staff and faculty exchange programs, collaborative research and team teaching. Faculty members from each university have already made visits to the other’s campus, and this June, Dr. Mike Lemke, professor of biology, and UIS student Rene Debelak will be visiting UEM for microbiological study of the Parana River.

UIS has expanded its cooperative endeavors with Heilongjiang University (HU) in Harbin, China. For more than 10 years, UIS and HU have been exchanging faculty, and with the new exchange agreement, the universities will now begin to exchange students.

The exchange is structured so that UIS students may study at HU for a semester, a full academic year or for part of or all of a summer term at HU. It is anticipated that UIS will offer a summer program in Chinese language and culture at HU during the summer of 2010.

UIS has also established a student exchange program with the University of Hull in East Yorkshire, England. Up to four students per year from each university will be able to study on the other’s campus while paying their home tuition. Students may study for a semester or for the full academic year.

Finally, UIS’ exchange program with the University of Colima in Mexico has been expanded to include an online component. Students from both campuses will be able to enroll in select courses in Political Science starting in the fall of 2009. Courses at the University of Colima will focus on the politics of Mexico, both domestic and international. Students will pay tuition and fees to their home campus.

These new programs complement the existing exchange programs UIS has already established with Saitama University in Japan, and Murdoch and Charles Darwin universities in Australia. UIS is also exploring opportunities in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Dalian and Hangzhou, China and La Plata, Argentina. In addition, short-term programs for the summer of 2010 are being planned for Japan, Mexico, Poland, China and the Netherlands.

For more information on these new programs and on all UIS study abroad programs, contact the Office of International Programs at 217/206-8319 or email intprog@uis.edu.